Whole House Generators in
Nashville, Tennessee

In the beginning of March 2020, just as we were starting to come to grips with COVID-19, social distancing, and what long-term “sheltering in place” would be like, a supercell storm released a series of 10 deadly tornadoes overnight between March 2^nd-3^rd. With wind speeds ranging up to 175 mph, the worst of these tore a long and wide scar across the Metro Nashville area, taking 25 lives and destroying hundreds of homes, churches, businesses, and other buildings.  Historic neighborhoods like Five Points, Donelson, Germantown were largely destroyed, and the nearby community of Cookeville was devastated.

As one of our hometown writers, Margaret Renkl, summed it up for The New York Times,  “It’s pretty hard to shelter in place when your shelter has just taken a ride through the sky.”

If you were lucky and your home was still standing the next day, chances are that you were one of more than 47,000  customers without power. The damage was so bad that officials said there was no way to predict when power would be fully restored. Undamaged hotels filled up quickly, and we were encouraged to bunk in with friends, family, or at a shelter, especially if someone in our family needed electricity to keep medicines cold or to power medical equipment.

A full week later, as the whole nation went into Phase I COVID-19 restrictions and were told to work and school from home, 15,000 Nashville families were still without power in their homes, supplies were still scarce, and the lengthy clean-up had really just begun.

But Spring Storm Season wasn’t over yet. Less than two months later, on May 2^nd,  more than 130,000 Nashville residents lost power when a derecho – an unusual and widespread weather system of straight-line winds topping 70 miles per hour — passed through Nashville, taking down trees and power poles.

On May 3^rd, you probably felt lucky if you were one of the 50,000 customers whose power had been restored, but that joy may have been short-lived. The very next day brought high winds from another rare weather system called a wake low, which raised the tally of those without power back up — from 80,000 to 120,000.

If you live in Nashville, you know that when the power goes out unexpectedly, it doesn’t take too long for your food, supplies, and peace of mind to run low – especially when damage is massive and outages are widespread. And, looking ahead, we know that climate change is shifting weather patterns and that future storms will be increasingly intense, widespread, and frequent. 

If you don’t have a backup home generator in Nashville, your options are limited when the power goes out. You can wait for it to come back on — no cooking, no lights, no refrigeration, no HVAC, no TV, no phone chargers, no power for medical devices, and often no water.  And, hunting down an available hotel room or a kind-hearted friend with power means using what’s left of your dwindling phone charge.  That can be a gamble if the roads en route are blocked by fallen trees, downed power lines, or traffic accidents.

While you can’t control the weather, you CAN avoid a replay of the inconvenience, worry, and insecurity that comes every time severe weather could mean losing power.

Before the next storm season brings new power outage challenges,  you can explore an altogether better option—the peace of mind that comes with uninterrupted power from an automatic, whole home backup generator from Canter Power Systems. 

Whether you live downtown in the 12 South neighborhood, in nearby Brentwood, or in any of the 13 counties that make up the Nashville Metro area,  your lights and power are ON, even if all your neighbors’  homes are dark.  You can heat and cool your home, cook, wash dishes and clothes, bathe, charge your phones and computers and keep your refrigerated and frozen food safe.  You can provide a haven for family members, friends, or neighbors who don’t have power. And, if someone in your family counts on power to keep medicines cool or to power medical equipment, you are covered.

Your whole family can watch television, listen to music, read books, play games, and use computers and phones to stay in contact with your larger world. Instead of rationing candles and flashlights, you can stay up after dark doing what you want and need to do. With a Generac whole home backup generator, you can even select to run only certain appliances during a power outage if you prefer. The choice is 100% up to you.